Plain Jane brownies

The s'mores brownies got me thinking. I've never actually made brownies from scratch. I never use mixes for cakes, cookies, or bars. I always make my own frosting. But for some reason, I've always used boxes for brownies. And I decided that had to change. After all, they can't really be that hard, right? Anything that can turn out well when you mix powder with oil, eggs, and water has to be pretty foolproof. One thing I didn't count on, though, is that they compensate for lack of correct texture with lots of extra chocolate in the boxed mixes. I mean LOTS of extra chocolate. I doubled the chocolate in the recipe, and I still feel like these were a little lacking. I guess every first try can't be a success, right?



The color of these just isn't what I was expecting! Brownies from a box are dark brown, not the buttery brown of these. But the texture was amazing! Honestly, it made up for the lack of chocolate. Not that I won't add more chocolate next time. That's just crazy talk. And it definitely didn't make these last more than a day.



So, this recipe is definitely not perfect. But it was pretty darn good.

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups chocolate chips
3 eggs
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Melt 1 stick of butter with 1 cup chocolate chips over low heat
Let cool to room temperature -- you don't want warm chocolate compromising the texture of the brownies!

3. Beat eggs in a mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Beat on high until mixture becomes stiff. It will happen, I promise. You just have to be patient.

4. Mix in flour until just combined.

5. Fold in melted chocolate with a spatula. When combined, fold in the remaining 1 C chocolate chips.

6. Pour into 9x13 baking dish lined with greased foil. Bake 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. You know the drill. Let cool completely.